“It’s tough,” said Laughton “You can’t put it into words. When you put on this crest and try to represent your country, and can’t even bring a medal back to Canada for the people who’ve been cheering for you and have 4,000 fans come down here, it’s heartbreaking.”

It’s the second consecutive year Canada has failed to medal in the tournament.

Grigorenko’s goal was his fifth of the tournament and now he’ll return to Buffalo where his future is up in the air. He’s ineligible to be sent to the AHL (too young) and the Sabres have been leery/unable to send him back to his junior team, the Quebec Remparts.

The CHL needs to drop this bs about players eligible to return to juniors being ineligible for the AHL. They are more worried about hoarding top talent and making their league look good than helping develop these young players into quality pros. This rule is making grigorenkos season a nightmare. Way too good for juniors, not good enough for the NHL. Stop being selfish, let these kids play at an appropriate level for them!

Now that Im done ranting… Not hating on Canada but Im glad they cant win/dominate every tournament anymore. It’s way more fun when there are 4-5 teams that have a legitimate chance to win. So congrats Russia and good luck Sweden and Finland!

joey4id - Jan 5, 2014 at 1:35 PM

It’s a major disappointment anytime you’re in the top 5 teams of a world hockey tournament and you don’t win gold. Let alone when you come back empty handed. Canada played an absolutely terrible game against Finland, and Russia played very well against Sweden. It’s always easier playing well after a good loss than it is coming from a bad one. Russia carried their momentum from their loss into the bronze medal game whereas Canada had to find their game.

I don’t agree with opening the fluid gates to allow 18 or 19 year olds to play in the AHL. Keep in mind that junior teams are also a business. They have a responsibility to develop players for the NHL, and there players can learn life lessons that can help them throughout the life. To pay for all expenses related to running a CHL you depend a lot on profits generated from the gates. Taking away these players will hurt profits and the development of future players. Perhaps there can be a middle ground. Maybe allow one exceptional under 20 year old to play in the AHL. Keep in mind that. At one time the NHL was not allowed to draft players until they had played their last year of eligibility in the juniors. That was eventually changed to draft players who would turn 18 by Sept. 15.

Agreed. If there is a rule where you can enter the CHL as a fifteen year old, a similar rule should be adopted for those players who are drafted to enter the AHL if they have the skill for it.

Sending him overseas may or may not hurt his chances with the Sabres. I’d rather not send him over to the KHL or Europe.

1943mrmojorisin1971 - Jan 5, 2014 at 1:09 PM

Watching this team throughout the tourney it was pretty clear they weren’t getting gold. You can’t play every game from behind and expect to win.

Once again I have to agree with Cherry, who for the last couple weeks has been openly questioning hockey Canada for leaving top players (most notably the leading OHL scorer) off the team. If you don’t put your best team on the ice while other nations do then you won’t win. Pretty simple.

When countries like Canada and USA leave these tournaments medal-less, I always have to wonder how much politics played a hand in selecting the national squads. Are you telling me that each country selected the best 20 players in their respective country? Major disappointment.

joey4id - Jan 5, 2014 at 1:44 PM

It is certain that they do NOT select the best players. Ex: Nathan McKinnon, Seth Jones and others. Sometimes you select players for chemistry especially when you get down to last 3 to 5 forwards. Like an orchestra preparing for a score you need the right instruments. USA played extremely well against Canada but came up on the short end. They can and should be disappointed, but don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Canada played an awful game against Finland, and their PP was anemic for the most part when it really counted. Canada’s downfall came against the Fins. Why? Only Sutter can tell us, and I’m sure he will have a debriefing with Hockey Canada.

joey4id - Jan 5, 2014 at 1:55 PM

The one question I have about the player selection, or not so much selection, but more so how the kid played. Dumba! What was he doing out there? He was by far the most inconsistent player on TC. He was the x-factor. You just never knew what to expect when he touched the puck. Stupid mistake or exceptional play. I thought the best d man was #8, Rienhart, the others were steady. Other very good players were Pouliot, Drouin, Mantha, Sam Rienhart, Lazar.

muckleflugga - Jan 5, 2014 at 2:09 PM

hats of to our juniors, thank you for your class and your game…great hockey and highly watchable

joey…good commentary

matters of convention…you are forthwith heretofore and forevermore under notice you are dangerously close to threshold limits for clichés in a single weekend…

still your wordplay is well-placed…mixing metaphors notwithstanding…unless the effort is deliberate in which case i say, well done joey…baby…get crazy

i believe a quiet change is occurring in major junior hockey…while these kids dream of the nhl, it’s becoming apparent opportunity to play in europe is as viable an option to those with realistic expectations as is playing in north america

if i had opportunity to play in the american league or ride the pine in the nhl or play the game in europe, where skill trumps thuggery, where a good living can be made with access to some of the word’s greatest cultural centres, i’d choose europe

every time

i would avoid booking flights through aeroflot, through the busiest air space in the world

every time

djshnooks - Jan 5, 2014 at 2:16 PM

Hahahaha hahahahahaha Canada!!!!

Wait…

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!

Canada sucks!!!!!

badgerhockey77 - Jan 5, 2014 at 2:36 PM

Always kick a Canadian when he is down…because he just might get up! lol

Seriously though, I wanted Canada to beat Russia today. I was REALLY hoping they’d do a fly-by of the Russian bench to taunt those childish punks! They deserve it after taunting Canada last year and USA this year.

WTH happened Canada? You were supposed to uphold the honor of N. America by getting bronze!!! Russia played at 2/3’s speed and still won.

Anyways, don’t cry too much Canada. You will mostly likely win gold on home ice next year. If not, you might want to stop playing hockey altogether.

Elrock7- Take off your helmet, stop licking the windows, and get off the short bus! Did you not know there was an NHL lockout last year and Canada had ALL their eligible players and did NO better than they did this year??? You need to wake up…